The only bang for their big buck most fans of teams of MLSE, a billion dollar company, have received is when the clubs shoot themselves in the foot.

So convincing the suspicious sporting public that they cared as much about wins as wallets became a one of Tim Leiweke’s biggest challenges. Upon arriving last spring, he saw what he was dealing with in his own Bay St. house. Profit-driven signs and stickers from the previous regime, such as “The Gross Is Not The Net” and “Winning Is Everything” rubbed him the wrong way.

“I made everyone take both signs down, thinking, ‘Gosh, we’re doing this wrong’. My philosophy? If we need to put up a sticker convincing us that winning is everything, then we’re in deep trouble.

“As these teams go (on the pitch, the ice, the court), so too shall we will be judged. But we were so afraid of the unpredictable nature of the teams, that we stuck to what we know, which is ‘I’m going to be judged by how we do from a business standpoint’.

“That’s the problem with this organization. For way too long we’ve had this divide. We have to be prepared to understand that accountability is the No. 1 rule. As the teams go, so goes us. We won’t be afraid of that.

“I’m not going to make this an agate of how much money we make. Those days are over. We’ll make plenty of money if we win. But it can’t be put on a sticker. We went through a very difficult three-month period where we went after that (problem).”

Some of his new employees soon became ex-employees.

“I do not hold them accountable, they were not the reasons that we had this (culture),” Leiweke said. “But we did have to bring new blood in that says we can absolutely change this organization.”

Leiweke stepped in some muck with fans early in his tenure when he suggested it was time to update the decor around the ACC.

That included replacing pictures of Leaf greats to emphasize the team’s new young guns. With nothing trophy tangible to hang on to since the last Cup in 1967, that peeved a lot of fans, including many oldtimers. Leiweke also spoke of a pre-planned Cup parade route, for which detractors naturally savaged him.

“Even the ownership,” laughed Leiweke. “Larry (Tanenbaum) and I had some really difficult days.

“A lot of people were upset that I was so outspoken. But sometimes what you’re trying to do is not make a point based on the issue you pick, such as the pictures, you use that as an opportunity to start a new conversation. It was a moment in time where we had to change the conversation around here.”

Leiweke has since gained back support for ideas such as a giant photo-op monument to Leaf greats throughout club history planned for Maple Leaf Square and currently in the concept stage.

Many other events are planned around the teams 100th anniversary in 2017.

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All signs pointed to failure

The only bang for their big buck most fans of teams of MLSE, a billion dollar company, have received is when the clubs shoot themselves in the foot.

So convincing the suspicious sporting public that they cared as much about wins as wallets became a one of Tim Leiweke’s biggest challenges. Upon arriving last spring, he saw what he was dealing with in his own Bay St. house. Profit-driven signs and stickers from the previous regime, such as “The Gross Is Not The Net” and “Winning Is Everything” rubbed him the wrong way.

“I made everyone take both signs down, thinking, ‘Gosh, we’re doing this wrong’. My philosophy? If we need to put up a sticker convincing us that winning is everything, then we’re in deep trouble.

“As these teams go (on the pitch, the ice, the court), so too shall we will be judged. But we were so afraid of the unpredictable nature of the teams, that we stuck to what we know, which is ‘I’m going to be judged by how we do from a business standpoint’.